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As I approach graduation an overwhelming felling of denial has completely taken over. Everyone around me has been sad or completely excited. However, I wake up every morning go to work and act as if I will be here for a few more years. But in a last attempt to remind myself that college really is over, here is a reflection of this semester.
The best part of this semester was being able to coordinate Y Are You in PR? our PRSSA chapter’s Regional Conference. I could have cried on the day when I saw everyone enjoying the speakers and other events. I started preparing for the Conference May of last year when I researched for the bid. I still can’t believe how amazing everything turned out. Another huge positive was all the work experience I was able to gain this semester. Between my internships and job, I really stopped feeling like a student. I really enjoy working and the respect and accomplishment gained from completing a project.
However, work also led to the biggest low of the semester. I put my time management skills to the test this semester by over packing my schedule. While I did learn how to delegate like a pro, I feel like I truly learned my limit. The word “no” is firmly in my vocabulary. Just because opportunities exist does not mean I need to take everyone one of them on.
For my internship this summer I am going to rely heavily on the skills I learned this semester. I got my first taste in media relations with my Visiting Nurse Internship. I was able to learn about all the event details with Regional Conference and my Career Services Internship. My student assistant position at Student Affairs has left me with a wealth of knowledge from Adobe and Microsoft skills, to working with designers and writing copy for a million different projects. Most of all I have learned what I can handle and how to say no. I feel confident that I am ready to enter the real world and put my skills to use.
“The more you read the more you’ll know. The more you learn the more places you’ll go!” – Dr. Seuss
Boy Meets World!
When everyone else was watching Friends, I was not allowed to watch “adult shows.” My parents kept me under a PG rock as far as movies and tv shows are concerned. So I stuck to the basic shows. My favorite was “Boy Meets World.” I used to watch it every week. When the reruns began, I was hooked all over again.
I would say I hope they bring this show back, but it is still on tv in the early afternoon. ABC Family still runs the show with some of my other favorites such as “Gilmore Girls.” The only problem is that lovely Statesboro, Ga. cable, Northland Cable, no longer offers ABC Family. Soon I will be back in Atlanta, and I will be once again hooked on “Boy Meets World.”
Almost everyone I know has a bulletin board or a collage of pictures, food, wedding dresses, destinations, houses and so much more that they dream of. So why not make it digital? Pinterest took the bulletin board in so many people’s bedrooms/offices and placed it online. Now I can not only pin everything I see online, but I can follow my friends pins.
To me the value in Pinterest is the pure genius behind the idea. Pinterest has 11 million monthly veiwers. It is the fastest growing social media network. The fastest growing social media network definitely provides value. But how?
An article by Sakita Holley describes how the 11 brands are using Pinterest. I think these brands have the right idea. The key with any medium is knowing whether or not your consumer/audience is using that medium and how they use it. Restaurants, resorts, hotels, fashion designers are all perfect for Pinterest. But not to push weekly sales or deals like they do in their annoying spam emails. All pinners want is the images. Give pinners a chance to fall in love with a top, destination or unique food and watch how the pin soars.
But my personal favorite pins are the crafty pin ideas that I can do at home. I love to repin things that I would have never thought of myself like at home work outs or fun recipes. Other things that I will repin immediately are great quotes and cute animal photos. I am on Pinterest at least once a day.
I will go on Facebook to check my notifications, but then I will immediately switch to Pinterest. I pin my favorite pins to Facebook as well. Because Pinterest is just more fun and much more visual.
Plus all of my girl friends are on Facebook. The second we meet someone who isn’t on Pintereset; we get that person hooked as well. An addiction is more fun if everyone else is doing it.
However, I don’t know how long Pinterest will last. I thought Facebook would fade away when I first started it, but now it seems like Facebook is not going anywhere. So what about pinterest? Does it have the longevity to make? I guess only time will tell.
My most recent pins (some of which I pinned while writing this post):
Me — “Hey do you want to see this movie?”
My Friend — “I would, but I am trying to finish the book first.”
Me (thought bubble) — “Are you serious!”
That is usually how the conversation goes when I want to see a movie that was created from a book. I hate to admit this, but I am not a big reader. I love reading blogs and short articles on the internet. But if you hand me a fictional novel, I would probably let it collect dust somewhere. That is why, I hate the excuse “I want to read the book first” when I ask people to go see a movie.
When I sit down to read a book, I have to block out every little thing happening around me to concentrate. When I sit down to watch a movie, I turn up the volume so loud no one else can concentrate. I also love the environment of a movie. I love the dark room with a hot bowl of popcorn (the popcorn is always necessary). A movie is — to me — more relaxing.
Of course, I have read a book or two that have been turned into movies. My favorite book to movie transformation — I hate to say it — is Harry Potter. I only got through the fourth book, but something about Harry Potter let’s my nerd side shine through. And to make it worse my second favorite book to movie transformation is Lord of the Rings. Like I said before; I’m a complete movie nerd.
So there you have it one of my secrets. Now I want to know; what is your favorite book transformed into movie?
I have known for a long time now that I need to pay more attention to what is going on in the world. I need to keep up with the news. The problem is I don’t want to read newspapers. I don’t even want to read newspapers online. I have seen some different websites that claim they display the kind of news that I want to see and the way that I want to see it. All of those sites don’t hold my interest. Yesterday I decided to look at a new site Mark Ragan had tweeted about, One Minute News.
One Minute News displays news as videos and stories. The site is very easy to navigate. I can decide the topic of news that I want to watch. I can also look at trending news. The top story is not what a reporter thinks is important. My top story is what my peers think is important.
Most importantly all the videos are 60 seconds. They have a team of people from different professions summing up the new into a concise format. I don’t know about you but I am definitely willing to take 60 seconds out of my day to stay updated.
If you are worried about being able to comment or share the news, you don’t need to be anymore. One Minute News allows you to comment and even tweet your comment. You can also rate topics about the different videos in the polls tab of the website.
On the roadmap tab of the website you can see what they are planning on doing with the site. One thing that I am concerned with is that they have not yet created an app. According to the site, “From smartphones to tablets we’ll be working to optimize our mobile experience as well as build into our social community features for portable bliss.”
Joe Pompeo covered One Minute News in Yahoo News. He spoke to MTV advertising executive Mark Greenlaw who said that their key audience is people from 21 – 35 year-olds. This age allows them to target the portion of generation Y that has an interest in the news. Pompeo quoted Greenlaw saying ”We just really feel that in high school and even in college, the younger members of our generation aren’t necessarily quite there yet in terms of news and being interested in the news. We think that the post-graduate age is the key age.”
They recently launched the site. I think after they are done making their apps and increasing their social network the site will be a hit. If regular news is too boring and clips of news are too cluttered, then you need to check One Minute News out.
Universities have taken lip dubbing over. Schools show their spirit by following different students who lip dub through the entire school. Anyone who loves musicals will love this! The entire school jumps in with wacky costumes and mini skits. The students are helping to promote their school while leaving an amazing legacy. If that is not enough, then get this — the entire thing is done in one take with no edits. Here is one of my favorites from the University of Victoria in Canada.
So here is my challenge for everyone who goes to Georgia Southern. I want to make a lip dub video for our school. I am at the very beginning of the process, so right now I just want to know what everyone thinks. Let me know lip dubbing a good idea or not?
This week at Georgia Southern University, the school is putting on their annual A Day for Southern campaign. The Campaign was first created to educate people on the importance of giving back to the University. The problem is that the majority of Georgia Southern alum do not give money back to the University. A large number of that majority actually give to other Universities. Georgia Southern is a public school . We do get funding from the state. However, that funding is not enough. Georgia Southern has many goals that can only be met if alumni and the community alike pitch in.
The newest part of the Day for Southern campaign has been added on this year to show the community and alumni that they should care because the students care. The student campaign is done in hopes to get full student participation. The school wants to show the students that they can make a difference by working together, and show the community and alumni that students are also making an effort to improve their educational experience.
Students are walking around campus all week to collect $1 from every student. Students can also donate online at georgiasouthern.edu/studentsfirst. The idea is if every student gives $1 then we’ll have over $20,000 to give to what we as students care about at our University. Just like the alumni and community members get to choose where their money is going, students get to choose too.
Below is an informational video made by students who are part of SGA.
Social Media from My Opinion
March 9, 2012 in Comments for PRCA 3030, Continue to Learn, My Trends | Tags: 1984, advantages of social media, communicaitons, disadvantages of social media, facebook, professional portfolio, social media, twitter, two way communication | Leave a comment
I want to make it clear that I do not consider myself an expert. I am a student. I have less than an ounce of experience compared to professionals who have been studying the advantages and disadvantages of social media on personal and public domains from its beginnings. However for my social media class, I was asked what my opinion was on the advantages and disadvantages of social media. Here it goes . . .
Advantages
On a professional level social media has opened the doors to a wide variety of interactions with an organization’s chosen public. With social media, professionals no longer have to rely on a less versatile print media. Professionals now have the opportunity to tailor messages to a direct audience through advertising on the correct social media site. Most importantly organizations can build relationships with their key target markets. There is no longer just a concept of relating to the consumer. Now relationships are forming with consumers every day through discussion boards, video posts, etc. Social media has transformed the web of communication.
Personally social media has some huge advantages. I have a group of girlfriends from high school who have now spread out across the country. However, we can never skip a beat of each others lives. With status updates, picture/video uploads, instant messaging, check-ins and so much more, we are all constantly in the loop. My family also has a Facebook group. This allows for the entire Gault Clan to stay up-to-date in our private family group. Social media has allowed me to stay connected.
Disadvantages
Professionally social media is a key to the consumer that can not always be easy to find. I hear the phrases “Content is Key” and “Engage, Engage, Engage,” but most often this is easier said then done. Being in a college town, I often see companies jump out of the Statesboro pond and into the social media ocean. They don’t always get eaten, but they often end up getting lost in the sea. Social media is not an easy tool to use. It involves tons of research, experience and time. If companies don’t want to put in the effort, they will most likely not reap the rewards.
Personally social media is developing this growing paranoid reality that “Big Brother” is not just a fictional story in 1984. The technology is out there. The question is — Who is using it? Nothing is private anymore, so what will happen when my generation of drunk college photos has to step up and be President? It seems scary to think about, but the signs haunt me everyday. Every kid who fails to hide their weekend party from their parents Facebook page understands what I mean. Transparency is not just about having a clean professional portfolio. Your personal social media portfolio needs to be clean from the get go; no matter how young you start.